BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The third round of the 2024-25 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season concluded on Friday, with the Beijing Ducks, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, the Zhejiang Lions, the Shanxi Loongs and the Liaoning Flying Leopards preserving their unbeaten records after three games played.
In a clash of previously undefeated teams, Xinjiang narrowly beat the Beijing Royal Fighters 114-111 on Thursday.
Xinjiang dominated the first half, building a commanding 69-49 lead at halftime. However, Beijing roared back in the third quarter with a 16-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits, trailing 94-87 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw a tightly contested battle, as Beijing tied the game at 105-105 with 3:03 remaining. The two teams remained deadlocked at 110-110 with 1:32 left on the clock. In the ensuing free throws, Xinjiang's Dedric Lawson made all four attempts, while Beijing's Shen Zijie missed one of two shots, allowing Xinjiang to continue their winning record.
Lawson had a double-double performance of 34 points and 12 rebounds, while his teammate Quentin Peterson added 25 points. For the Royal Fighters, Travis Trice scored 25, and Grant Riller contributed 22.
Another team from Beijing, the Ducks, suffered a late scare when the Sichuan Blue Whales cut the deficit to 80-79 early in the fourth quarter. The Ducks held their ground and secured a 102-91 victory at home, with Richard Solomon, Eugene German and Zhang Cairen leading the team's balanced offense with 15 points each.
Elsewhere on Thursday, the Lions also extended their unbeaten run in a hard-fought game against the Shandong Heroes. The margin stayed within single digit for much of the contest, and Shandong pulled within one point at 83-82 early in the fourth quarter after free throws by Gao Shiyan.
With just over three minutes left, Zhejiang clung to a narrow 95-93 lead before launching an 8-1 run, extending the advantage to 103-94 with under a minute to go. Despite a late jumper and several three-point attempts from Shandong, the Lions held on for a 103-96 win.
Liaoning also sealed their victory with a decisive fourth quarter on Friday. Leading by a narrow 53-50 margin at halftime against the Guangzhou Loong Lions, they managed to extend the lead to 83-73 with a hard-fought 30-23 third quarter. However, it was the defending champions' offensive output in the final period that made the difference, as they dominated the fourth quarter 37-15, ultimately securing a 120-88 win.
Shanxi almost squandered a 13-point lead against the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. Despite Shanxi's 90-77 lead entering the final period, Zhejiang closed the gap to 93-90 with a flurry of three-pointers. However, Shanxi's Yuan Shuai and Zhang Ning responded with consecutive threes, extending the lead to 101-90. Although Zhejiang made another push with long-range shots, defensive lapses ultimately thwarted their comeback efforts as Shanxi walked away with a 112-102 victory.
In other third-round games, the Shenzhen Leopards cruised to a 121-100 victory over the Jiangsu Dragons, the Guangdong Southern Tigers edged past the Qingdao Eagles 118-113, with Shenzhen and Guangdong earning their first wins of the season. The Nanjing Monkey Kings won over the Ningbo Rockets 126-115, the Shanghai Sharks lost to the Tianjin Pioneers 112-110, and the Jilin Northeast Tigers eased past the Fujian Sturgeons 124-109. ■
